The Autumn Festival
by THA musIc GuY
Summary: Upon refusing Naruto's proposition of them going to the festival together, Sakura didn't think she'd triggered anything serious. Unfortunately for her, when he suddenly took out another woman to the fete, she was forced to think otherwise. NaruSaku. Romance/Humor. Bordering M.


-0-

Sakura Haruno found herself staring at the man in front of her. His blonde hair ruffled in the breeze that blew constantly over the fourth's head, on the Hokage monument. Blue eyes bore down at her emerald ones, bringing her to place, and not allowing for her to make a single moment, however small. His breath graced her lips, making her feel uncomfortable, and, in a weird way, _very _comfortable at the same time.

She gulped. She'd done it. _Finally_, one would say, after all that she'd thought of, and all that she'd realized, this is what had finally resulted. _This_, however weird, rushed, and creepy it had been.

Now, all that remained was…

"W-What say?"

Her eyes widened at her own words. _She _was the one prodding _him _along, for a change. _She _was the one in need of a reply. _She _was the one in distress.

She gulped yet again, as she saw the man bite his lips. Was he going to say no? No way! He'd wanted this all along, right? All of their friends had said so! All of them! What would happen then, if he said 'No', right now? How humiliated would she be? Would she ever be able to face him again? She bit her lip, and squinted. She had no choice, she had to do something! Anything!

But what?

"Gah! Shannaro!"

_POW!_

"Holy shit!"

_Crap! _

She froze, as realization of what she'd just done dawned upon her. She looked at the blonde in front of her, as the latter bent down holding his nose, as blood spouted out from there, falling ingloriously upon the ground below.

"Sakura-chan, what the hell!" The blonde began jumping around, pressing his hand to his nose, while uncomfortably screaming out in his obvious pain.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouchouchouchouchouch!"

If she hadn't just done what she had, she would've laughed at the comical scene which was unfolding in front of her. The Hokage; her Hokage, was bent over, jumping about in all his pain, as his nose spewed out a viscous red fluid. The corners of her mouth were about to twitch upward, but she suddenly caught hold of what she'd done, yet again, and panic _finally _started to build up inside her.

"Sweet mother of god! Naruto!" The pinkette hurried over to the man, throwing her arms around him in a comforting manner. This was uncalled for. Why in the name of her hair color had she hit him? The embarrassment!

"Are you okay?"

The Hokage turned his head to glare at her, while still not quite stopping his jumping-fit.

"Oh, I'm fine!" he spat, "My nose is bleedin' like a fucking fountain. Of course I'm fine!"

Sakura whined, as she moved over to the blonde, muttering apologies all along the way. Upon reaching him, she bent down, and placed a professionally trained medic-hand upon his nose. Naruto winced upon the contact, and was about to rebuke her for her action, when he suddenly saw a green aura envelope her fingers.

Said aura, radiated from her hand and slowly began caressing the tip of his nose, moving in an ethereal way, clipping his skin, and then moving inside.

Needless to say, he felt very, _very _good.

The emerald-eyed girl smiled. Naruto Uzumaki was feeling giddy because of her! That was one of the few things that she'd found out to have the power to pace up her heartbeat, off late. It was an inexplicable phenomenon, and she had no clue as to just _how _she'd fallen prey to such a trivial thing, but even then, it _was _kind of homely. It _was _kind of soothing. And it _definitely _didn't hurt to know that there was someone out that who made her want to look out for him.

Sakura's smiled widened. All that remained now was to know his answer.

"You know, you might say that I freak out a lot... But I _definitely _don't remember punching _you _in the nose while asking you out."

Sakura reddened at the statement.

"Come on! Forgive me already!" she moaned, laughing sheepishly at the blonde. Then, she remembered her initial question, and the blonde's lack of an answer to it, and she brought the issue to light again.

"S-So, what's y-your answer?"

Naruto inwardly smiled at the his pink-haired friend's curiosity. Why she'd asked that question, however, came as a bummer to him. There was never a question as to what his answer was going to be. Even the pinkette _thinking _that he'd reply in the negative sense made his chest cringe. He was out plain for her to read.

However, considering that none of them had ever been that good in expressing their feelings, he guessed that he'd have to be the one to come out with the answer again. The burden of it! Why was _he, _the guy with almost _no _knowledge of things romantic, always the one to get stuck with such awkward love-creeps.

He'd have to mark that as a 'thing to think about while shitting' for then.

Turning to look at the nervous medic-nin in front of him, a mischievous smile adorned his face, as he finally bent forward to look the woman in the eye again.

"So let me see. _What _would a man's answer to such a thing be?"

He mentally grinned, as the pinkette's face reddened to a shade beyond crimson. Who knew he'd grown to have such power over her.

"B-Baka," she managed, looking away in a frivolous attempt to guard her embarrassment.

This time he laughed for real, falling back onto the ground as the absurdity of the whole situation struck him. Who would've thought that the head medic of the leaf would be so blunt in her advance?

Turning his face, while his laughs still shook his frame, Naruto saw the pinkette pout and turn away. Her back greeted him, as she sat down on her knees, much preferring to look at her village instead of its teasing head-ninja.

"Sakura-chaan!"

His whine didn't fail to speed up her heartbeat to a rhythm which was faster than the already fast one it had been beating to. However, she thought better than to divulge that little piece of info to him. Dignity wasn't something to be let off so easily.

How scandalous! She'd basically given him the opportunity many men would kill for! She wasn't _that _narcissistic, but she _still _didn't consider herself to be _that _bad when it came to looks! What with the endless askings-out she'd received through the course of whatever her life had been till then. If only she'd know if the blonde Baka behind her still held the feelings he once used to hold for her.

She was starting to feel a bit melancholy about the whole ordeal, when she suddenly felt a warm chin rest on her left-shoulder.

"Eeep!"

She looked at the blonde head pressed against her shoulders, and inwardly feared the sudden onslaught of a heart attack. What was he planning on doing?

She felt him wrap his hand around her stomach, and pull her closer to him. Unthinkingly, she did just that. Her irremediably unsettling nights were perhaps to finally be put to rest.

"Before I give my answer," said the blonde, his throat vibrating merrily against his pink-haired friend's neck-muscles as he did so, "What in the name of a cow's butt got you to this point?"

Oh, how Sakura loved the feeling of his face against her nape as he talked. Unfortunately for her, she had a question to give an answer to.

"W-Well, I guess it sort of triggered up when you asked that red-haired bitch out to the Autumn festiva-"

"Hey!" said Naruto, laughing in mock offended-ness, "I thought you turned me down!"

Sakura struck her head against the blonde's in an attempt to chide the latter.

"I didn't think you were gonna give up!"

"But, but-"

Unable to find a plausible retort he just moved closer to the pink-haired kunoichi, and pulled her into him. He felt her smile as she shifted to a more comfortable position within his warm embrace.

"Its been a crazy coupl'a days hasn't it?" asked the blonde, pressing his cheek against that of the woman he held.

She waited for a moment, before turning completely to face the weary looking man against her.

A smile bubbled onto her facial features.

"It sure has..."

* * *

"Wanna go out with me?"

The question seemed to be simple enough. A blonde man, considered to be one of the most sought after in Konoha, was slumped against the couch opposite to the one on which Sakura was sitting. She stopped sipping on her coffee, and put down her cup, to look sternly at the man.

The man kept looking at her, his eyes focused on hers.

"Why?"

Sakura saw him make a weird expression with his face. Contrary to her expectation of him plummeting a ton of reasons at her, he just chuckled. Why? Sakura had no idea. Therefore, she just kept looking at him, waiting, until he finally got over his fit, and gave her a half-serious glance.

"Just that I need a date for the Autumn festival."

He tilted his head, and grinned at her, his eyes closed.

Sakura scowled. The Hokage was asking her out to the festival which was unarguably the most glitzy and hyped of all its other seasonal counterparts, and, considering that, her answer should have been pretty easy and clear. Her answer should've been what most kunoichi, if not all, would give to the gorgeous blonde in front of her, if the latter were to ask that question to them.

But, Sakura wasn't any ordinary kunoichi, and it wasn't any ordinary bond she shared with the village-head either. She'd have to think about all the pros and the cons of the act, before giving her agreement to it. As it was, their platonic fling was already getting a bit too delicate and fragile. Dates would _definitely _not be of help to that.

On top of all this, she'd already received askings-out from a considerable number of wealthy young merchants of the village. She'd have to devise ways of saying 'No' to each and every single one of them, if she were to agree with her blonde friend's proposal. That, and her personal desire.

Therefore, she gave the best answer she could think of.

"I'll think about it, Baka."

She saw her blue-eyed friend groan, and get up to look her in the eyes more clearly. Inwardly she gulped, as a now familiar tug at the gut, which she was, albeit, as mentioned before, familiar with, still unable to describe. She saw a brief flicker in the eyes of her closest confidante, and suddenly felt very put-to-place by said persons gaze.

"Sakura," Naruto said, his voice soft, "It doesn't work like that. The festival is three days away, and the elders are burdening me with the need to get a date. They say that it'll be scandalous for the village's male head to go to the leaf's greatest gala, without a woman. So, I'm sorry, but I need a definite answer."

Sakura was almost tranquilized by the warm-homeliness of his breath, but quickly snapped out of her stupor, when her brain began to register what had just been said to her.

The pressing demand of the man in front of her unsettled her, rendering her incapable of thinking properly. However, she needed to give him a plausible answer.

"Naruto, I've been asked out by many others," she inwardly cringed at the conceit he must've felt she'd said that with, "And I need time to weigh the-"

"Sakura-chan, I need an answer."

Naruto's sweet, husky tone almost made her say yes.

Almost.

However,she still did need him to understand her situation, and give her some time. She was the head medic of the leaf herself, and what she did came off as quite a fuss as well. There were just too many people on the line for her to resolutely say yes to the man in front of her just then. There were men _far _richer than a Hokage would ever be, at bay, and thus, she traumatically thought of giving Naruto the only response that her mind was able to cook up.

"If you can't give me time, well, then, I'm sorry, but its-"

"I see."

She was cut short, when the Hokage suddenly rose, and turned away from her, presenting her with his profile. His blonde hair fell over his eyes, disallowing Sakura to clearly read what was in said organs. He momentarily stood still, making no movement, before slapping his cloak back-wards, and slipping his hands into his orange-colored pants' pockets.

"See ya."

Sakura saw Naruto turn his head around to look at her one more time, before he flashed her with a small smile. Weirdly though, even she was unable to fully understand if that smile was a fake one. It just seemed to be so _real._ Her chest cringed against her will, as she saw him wring his right hand out and place some money on the table, before suddenly turning his back to her, and puffing out of sight._  
_

The pinkette kept staring at the smoke that the blonde had left in his wake for quite some time after that, before she suddenly frowned.

_Its the first time that he didn't ask me out a second time._

* * *

Naruto listlessly walked up the Academy's staircase. The late rejection he'd received from his pink-haired medic consort weighed heavy on his mind. He'd thought that Sakura would easily oblige to going to the Autumn festival with him. Unfortunately, that had not been the case.

_...I've been asked out by many others..._

Like he hadn't been! There were about fifty askers-out that the council had considered to be 'worthy' of the Hokage. The prejudice didn't bode well with Naruto, but well, he didn't really think that he'd have been able to seriously consider those askings, what with his 'Sakura-chan' walking around the village, looking all hot and sexy.

A frown grew on his face.

_If you can't give me time, well, then, I'm sorry..._

Sorry his ass! There was probably another candidate who was in possession of greater wealth than him, and she wanted to be treated better when it came to the Autumn festival which was famous throughout the five ninja nations. Not that he'd come in the way of her happiness... Just that he thought she'd finally let herself be asked out by him.

The blonde moved his lips to a side.

They were twenty three years old for heaven's sake! Most of their friends were in couples! Following the victorious conclusion of the Fourth ninja war, Shikamaru and Temari had been the first to hook up. That was followed by Chouji and some girl from his clan. Then came Kiba and Hinata; after Naruto's polite refusal of the advances of the woman. Neji and Tenten were next. And then, finally, as one would think the epic conclusion to be, Sasuke and Ino!

Naruto smirked.

Oh how joyous the act of teasing the Uchiha had been! He still shivered thinking about it. The teasing he'd inflicted upon the man had gone on for days, with the Hokage being relentless in his approach.

However, the fact still remained. Naruto was single.

Not that he'd been that way since the war! He'd coupled up with Hinata for a while, but broken up with her soon after. He just couldn't live a lie. That, and the fact that he sort of wanted to spike up the chemistry between the girl, and her dog-loving teammate; who'd all but proposed marriage to the same, before she started dating the village hero.

Getting the two of them had been surprisingly easy, even for Naruto! It turned out that the blonde wasn't mentally impaired when it came to complementing others with relationship advice. Not that he'd been exclusively amazing in teaching Kiba the way he was to ask Hinata out; but hey, barging into a Hyuuga festival, and asking the heiress out on the spot, in front of hundreds of skilled dojutsu users couldn't have been that shabby either!

Not to mention that the girl concerned had completely let go of her inhibitions when the red-tattooed idiot had done that, and tackled him in front of those people, head-on.

Needless to say, their steamy session still made rounds around the village, courtesy of the gossip-sexed mouths of the leaf's housewives.

Anyhow, Hinata and Kiba's relationship was the least of his concerns for then. He needed a date! And, as far as he remembered, the council members had told him that if he was unable to scourge up a 'presentable escort' for the gala, they'd force one down upon him, and make him proceed with the 'acts of pleasure' a woman of such stature was to be provided with, after said event.

He shuddered.

Who knew old geezers such as the ones comprising the Konohan council, had minds dirty enough to cook up scenarios which were so sensual!

Then again, thought Naruto, Sakura had always told him that strategists had the most vivid imaginations.

"Dobe?"

The blonde's trail of thought was broken by the sudden voice. Looking up to find its source, Naruto found his personal 'escort', and best-friend, standing atop the flight of stairs... in a hakama!

His mouth puffed up.

"Teme! You're wearing a skirt!"

The embarrassed Uchiha watched, as his Hokage burst into an unduly childish fit of laughter and doubled over to the railing by the stairs, gripping a baluster for dear life, as he laughed his lungs hoarse.

Trust the Fire head to be an asshole.

"Shut up, ramen-dick!" screamed the red-eyed shinobi, his powerful facade automatically crashing down because of the presence of his friend, "The council forced this crap on me!"

In all abruptness, Naruto stopped laughing, and suddenly pivoted his head towards the Uchiha. The _council? _The _board _was involved? They'd made his closest ninja wear a hakama... could that mean-

"Holy shit! I'm gonna have to wear that garbage?"

The blonde pointed at the Uchiha's lower-clothing again, this time, his expression aghast.

The other man smirked.

"Why yes, yes you are."

And with that the man walked off, leaving the Hokage staring at him from behind, reveling, albeit angrily, in the sudden-calm attitude that the Uchiha caught hold of.

He was going to have to wear a Hakama?

_Deep. Shit. _

Period.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha eyed the blonde man walking in front of him with mild curiosity. The latter wasn't trying to irritate him to death, like he usually did, neither was he trying to get him to make love to every single hot lady he found his eyes lingering to while walking.

Naruto was just... _quiet!_

The Dobe was never quiet.

It was very unsettling for the Uchiha to be subjected to unusual circumstances such as this. He was unable to comprehend what was to happen the next moment! That was _really _angering; something that he didn't like. At. All.

Thus, swallowing his stoic-pride, he walked up to the Hokage, and decided to get rid of this dilemma first-handedly.

"Waddup?"

_The fuck did I just say?_

Sasuke's eyes widened. He _never _used pea-brained crap like that! Never! It was one of the few things he held an exorbitant amount of pride in. But... he'd said- Waddup! What was wrong with him?

Reddening profusely, he closed his eyes shut, and waited for his teasing best-friend's mockery to ensue.

Surprisingly, it never came!

Snapping his head towards the blonde, the Uchiha found the latter to be immersed in his thoughts. Even though the fact that the blonde had surprisingly missed his unusual comment relieved him, a frown began to mar his face. The Dobe was _never _thinking. He knew that first-hand; what with all the times he'd charged their enemies unthinkingly, albeit successfully, when they had been out on missions.

It called for concern.

"Dobe!"

His blonde friend jerked out of the thoughtful trance he'd been in, and slowly turned towards the Uchiha.

"H-huh?"

"What _is _it?"

The Hokage didn't answer his question immediately, but turned away. The daze slowly flitted away from the face of the same, while he looked on ahead, gazing intently at the silhouette of the far-off buildings, as the sun slowly set behind them. He scowled.

"Sakura-chan rejected the idea of me taking her out for the festival."

_Shit._

Sasuke didn't even bother to make a comment. He'd given up pondering on the mental conditions of that girl a _long _time ago. On one side, the pinkette claimed Naruto to be the person she felt the safest with, while on the other hand, she debated that going out with him would probably ruin their friendship, because of the minor chance of their breaking up.

The Uchiha felt like laughing.

If anything, the woman was scared. Of rejection? Of facing her feelings? He wasn't aware of _what _it was exactly that made her such, but he still got the underlying truth. After all, nothing escapes the Sharingan.

However, for the first time, Sasuke was actually relieved at Sakura rejecting Naruto. It made the job the council had given him easier.

"About that..."

The blonde turned to look at him questioningly. Sasuke remained stoic, as far as it concerned his outer facade. Strangely, on the inside, he was shaking in nervousness, contemplating the best way to tell the blonde what he'd been asked to.

"What's up Teme?"

Sasuke nearly gulped.

"Err, the Council have..."

Naruto stopped in his tracks, and finally gave him a really intense stare.

"The council have, what?"

Shaking his inhibitions aside, the Uchiha finally mustered up the courage.

"You," Sasuke, breathing deeply and pointing at the blonde, "AretakingoutKarin!"

Naruto blinked.

"Who am I takin' out?"

"K-Karin."

Karin.

The name rang in the blonde's ears.

_Dump._

The black-head's 'skirt's belt got stuck in his friend's hands. What happened next probably doesn't need explaining.

"Dobe! You nasty motherfucker!"

* * *

Sakura Haruno walked up the length of her room in a surprisingly fret-full manner. She was taking out one of the richest, most respected, and handsomest men in Konoha. The man was someone she'd been keeping her eyes on for what had been the better half of a year. And yet...

There was that nagging feeling at the back of her head, and it was acutely irritating!

"Dammit!"

She begrudgingly went over to the bed in her room, and gazed into the mirror opposite to it. Her face looked like it was made up to the most perfect tone. Her hair stood out glamorously, setting up a striking similarity with her dress. Elegant. There was no other way one could describe it.

So why couldn't she just unwind?

Snorting in exasperation, the kunoichi fell back onto the bed. She followed the designs of the symbols of the five great nations on the ceiling with her eyes, boredly searching for a getaway from the exorbitant amount of mental pain she was suffering. A smile slowly rose to her lips.

Naruto had helped her get that ceiling designed. She nearly cracked when she remembered how people had been gaping into her apartment, while the Hokage'd mirthfully painted her apartment's ceiling. Scratch that, she really _did _crack up at that.

Then her heart cringed.

_Naruto._

She frowned.

Who was the lucky girl who was going to go out with the village head? Some noblewoman? Some foxy little Jonin? Ayame?

_Goddamn the baka! Why's this weighing this heavy on my mind anyway?_

She sighed. She didn't need such thoughts to plague her mind right now! She had to look presentable! Otherwise Kai wouldn't get the date a man of his stature would expect!

_That's right! Today, I'm going out with Kai! The handsomest, richest, famous-est man I've come across! I'll be good!_

And Naruto would be taking out some no-good hooker for one of the most romantic festivals of the year.

_Aaaaaargh! Get me something that'll distract me! Please! Shannaro!_

"Sakura?" the voice of the pinkette's mother reached her ears, "Kai's here."

She blinked.

Miracles _were _real!

* * *

The blonde looked at the red-head walking beside him cautiously, while the latter scanned the room rather merrily, looking at all the confetti, sparking lights, food-buffets, and people roaming around.

He gulped.

The last two Uzumakis. At one place. Holding hands. Looking around a hall filled with couples. A merry girl, and an awkward bastard.

What _could _go wrong?

"Come on, homie!"

Karin's voice rattled his mind, as she tugged him along with her, into the Academy's boutique. The invitees looked at the Hokage with reverence, and, after the tiniest bit of a surprised chain of murmurs, at his date, with oddly cheery expressions. They came up to them, and greeted them, one at a time, wishing Naruto a good, long reign over Konoha, and congratulating the woman beside him, for having have bagged one of the most sought after men in the village.

"Nah, the council paired us up."

Naruto noted, although quite unconsciously, how the woman beside him had strikingly red hair. Red Hair...

_Mom._

Uncomprehending of his smile, Naruto kept staring at the girl. Her skin was vibrant in color, as were her eyes. The scars from the numerous bites she'd received as an adolescent were not there anymore, owing to an intensive, and successful, treatment by the Konohan-medics. She had the omnipresent cheery attitude of an Uzumaki, and was surprisingly low-profile in her approach.

She turned her head to him, and saw him looking at her.

Not peeved in the slightest, she returned the smile on his lips, and tilted her head a little to a side.

"Let's enjoy the crap out of this fete!"

The Hokage's smiled morphed into a full blown grin. He nodded agreeably, and let the woman beside him lead him along the room, sharing his experiences of the week with her, and listening, as she shared hers with him. He laughed when he heard of how a man had tried to ask her out to the gala, by presenting her with some 'rubber', which they _were probably going to need after the fete. _Or so had been his words._  
_

He didn't openly admit it, but Karin _was _sort of pretty, in addition to being really funny, cheerily flirty, and capable of having a lot of fun, while still keeping the platonic-boundary in sight.

A grin found its way to his lips.

Maybe he hadn't been that unlucky after all.

* * *

The pinkette glowered at the woman on the other end of the hall, as the latter burst into a fit of laughter. The red hair of the latter fell back elegantly, as she threw her head back, her shaking-body making it move lightly. An outstretched arm was on the Hokage's shoulder, clenching it for support.

Clenching it.

Naruto's shoulder.

_Bitch._

Why were the two of them so social anyway? They had barely talked to each other till yesterday, and even then, the few times that they actually _had _socialized, had been because of necessary courtesies that the Hokage, and the last living female Uzumaki couldn't possibly hope to forgo. So why were they acting so friendly, and happy... and couple-y?

Sakura groaned.

There it was again, the burning inside her chest. She'd been feeling that little encroachment of her inner emotions for what happened to be the better half of the past year, whenever she'd seen Naruto act a little more than social with some woman. It was inexplicable, and weirdly, she thought that it was sickeningly clichéd. But even then, it did cause unwanted ripples of emotion to wash over her chest, and that dampened her mood to no end.

Kai was muttering something about the conditions of the state's finances, and how the wealthy class came to be affected by it. She nodded in the right places, giving him the impression of her actually paying attention to his monologue, while her real consciousness was filled with the way Karin's hands moved over Naruto's forearms, and shoulders.

_Slut!_

What did Naruto find in the girl? The thought made her pout. She was ten-times more well acquainted with him, but he was out with _her_. It almost made her regret the decision of having so quickly rejected the Hokage's proposal of them going out to the event together. Almost.

She still had her ego to watch.

Snapping her head away from the pair, she turned her gaze towards Kai to give her full focus to the man. His words, although extremely frivolous to her, what with his incessant rambling about economy, managed to hold her attention for a while. But then, she started to ponder on what her blonde Baka of a teammate was speaking about with Karin. Flitting her gaze towards them, from the corner of her eyes, she observed the Karin was chuckling, while Naruto brought two fingers up, and stuck them inside his nose.

That almost made _her _crack up as well. What was with him being the craziest Hokage ever?

She actually thought of going over to the two, and greeting them. Idiots needed company right? Boldly stretching out a leg, she almost began to walk.

Unfortunately, it was right then, that _it_ happened.

She saw Naruto playfully smile at the red-head. It was a small inconspicuous smile. It wasn't his usual lopsided grin, nor was it the merry one he wore as a natural prankster. It was- it was, _that _smile. The one he had only for her and Sasuke.

She froze.

"I'm sorry, but I-I've got to go."

Turning away, she began to walk, while her date muttered something confused. She didn't even bother to look back at the two people who were responsible for rendering her _so _unsettled. Haughtily picking up pace, she quickly came up to the door. She heard Kai shout out her name once, and the surprised 'Sakura-chan' that followed from a man she knew only too well.

However, her mind was in too big a mess right then to stay at the suffocating gala, especially when the interactions of the two Uzumakis successively caused her to feel an alien-fire inside her chest.

She needed to carry out some serious mind-taming.

* * *

Sakura walked up the road leading to the training fields. The sides were lined with lights sparkling in all their glory, as the people around cheered enthusiastically for the onslaught of the season of 'mellow'. The irony was almost impossible to miss, but her mind lay so far away, that it barely registered.

About five months prior to the date, something weird had started to happen. Sakura had stumbled into the Leaf's hot-springs on a cool Monday morning, during Spring, ignoring the weird looks she had received from the people around the place. Thinking it to be something concerning her state of being, which, needless to say, was _very _tired after two days of double-shifts at the hospital, she'd chosen to ignore the stares, and proceed with what she'd come to the place for.

After she'd gone inside, the confused 'Ma'am' the man at the counter had uttered, had got her thinking for a while, but she hadn't stopped in her tracks, merely placing five currency-notes on the counter, and walking away to the women's changing rooms without further word.

After she'd changed into the towels she'd planned on taking inside, she'd strode into the main lobby of the Bath, and asked the man she'd just met a moment before, while coming inside, if there were a lot of people inside.

"N-Not in the l-least! But ma'a-"

She'd waved him off, and skipped towards the female section of the place. Upon entering the Bath, she'd found it to be engulfed in an unusually thick fog. Shrugging it off as a mere co-incidence, she'd taken in a deep breath of the moist air, and walked over to the edge of the hot pool.

Dropping off her towels outside, she'd felt for the water with her legs, the fog making it almost impossible for her to see her surroundings. Upon feeling the warm surface, she'd let off a barely audible sigh, and slowly climbed into the pool.

The hot water invigorated her beyond her understanding, filling up her senses with a flurry of calming and pleasurable emotions. She'd moved her body over to the edge of the pool, and was about to lean down, when one of her legs slipped, and, with a short yelp, she found herself falling, eyes closed, towards whatever lay in front of her.

Strangely, what she _did _fall on, was _nothing _near what she'd expected.

The warmth of the surface was the first thing her mind registered. Its rubbery nature came next. There were hard sculpted definitions which she felt when the object breathed evenly against her.

Wait a second?

_BREATHED?_

Curiosity burned through her, making her go red in the face. This _was _the female section, wasn't it?

Peevishly gulping, she waited for the other person to make a move. When they didn't do so, she went on her own little search, and rubbed herself softly against them.

There was no prominent curve near the chest.

_Holy shit!_

Suddenly, the idea of using her chakra to clear the fog didn't seem to be that bad to her. Not daring to tear away from the body, in the fear of it suddenly realizing that Haruno Sakura was pressed it, she brought her hands together, and forced some chakra out through the tips of her hair. It swiftly cut through the mist surrounding _them,_ and gave her her a view of the person in front of her.

Only thing was, while her curiosity sank to a point below zero, her embarrassment rose to a point which brought her frighteningly close to a heart attack.

Wet blonde bangs which fell over a sleeping tanned face, and cerulean eyes which lay hidden from her view by the close eyelids of the man, had been yielded to her by her eyes. Ripped pectorals softly pressed against her breasts, as he had lay there, breathing evenly and peacefully as sleep had been reigning supreme inside him.

Even though she thought that she should have moved, she'd found herself to be unable to do so. Instead, against her mental will, her body had pressed itself against that of the male in front of her even tightly. For a few seconds, she'd waited like that, fearing the outcome that she was obvious to be presented with.

Weirdly, she received none.

Taking the opportunity to break out of her stupor, she'd quickly climbed out of the pool, and dried herself up with her towel. After that, she'd quickly draped herself up in the towel, and hastily scurried out of the Bath, her face redder than a full grown tomato.

"I'd tried to warn you..."

She turned her embarrassed self to find the counter-guy looking at her, his perverseness freakish. Not being able to think properly, she'd merely stuck out her tongue at the man, making the latter crack-up a little. However, the glare that she'd presented the man with after that, had got the job of shutting him up done sweetly fast.

After coming out of the Bath, not without warning the counter-guy against telling anyone what had transpired in the place that day, she'd gone straight to Ino, eventually finding out that Tsunade-sama had herself drugged the Rokudaime, and dumped him into the steaming waters of the public Bath for the whole of the morning.

When the pinkette had questioned if it was good for his health, Ino'd told her that Tsunade-sama had guaranteed that the nine-tailed beast, which was now on friendly terms with the Rokudaime, would take care of that. Besides, Ino'd told her that Tsunade-sama had done the thing only to guarantee that the blonde idiot would get the rest he needed, what with the way he'd been humping his bust off working for the past couple of months.

Sakura had thought that that was that, and it would be the end of it all.

Unfortunately for her, it wasn't the case.

From that day on, she'd started to have dreams about the Hokage that were, to say the least... embarrassing. They had gone on for, and she'd been expecting to have one that day itself, however, now she was more confused than she'd ever been, and, for a change, she needed some answers.

_What happened down there?_

She remembered how close the two were acting. The nerve of the chic! How dare she lay her wretched hands on the man of Harun- wait WHAT?

_Ba-dump._

She froze.

_The fuck?_

The feeling she'd just had was oddly similar to what she used to feel during the academy days, when Ino used to act all close and personal with the Uchiha prodigy. Of course, she'd long gotten over her swooning over the man, but the feeling... it had struck again.

On none other than her dunce of a confidante. The puzzlement!

Contemplating for a while, she finally gritted her teeth.

She and blondie needed to have a little chat.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki sat atop the stone-head of his father on the Hokage monument, listlessly staring as the village of Konoha gleamed beneath him, the lights signalling the inception of Autumn weirdly distinguishable. He'd usually smile in a situation like this, but his preoccupation prevented that.

Why had Sakura-chan left the gala like that?

He and Karin had left shortly after that. After dropping her off at her house, the Rokudaime had decided that he needed to spend some time alone. He needed to think through the night's events to understand what made Sakura so mad.

And what better place to do it on than his father's head?

That sounded weird.

Upon pondering on it for a long time, he finally came to the conclusion that she'd been acting like that for quite some time. Like the last time they'd gone over to Kirigakure, Mei, the Mizukage, had flirted with him. After that, Sakura-chan had inexplicably gotten so mad at him, that she'd avoided him for a whole week!

Instances like that had happened a few more times, each with its own version of an angry Sakura.

Why had she been angry?

The blonde pondered on that. He thought in a manner which was deep and detailed, analyzing every little bit of Sakura's emotions he'd caught hold of during those times, and...

...he got nowhere.

Sighing in defeat, the Rokudaime fell back onto the hard surface of the Yondaime's head, and looked up at the clear night-sky. The stars shone in all their brilliance, seeming to be almost laughing at him while he lay there, helpless, and clueless.

"I thought I'd find you here."

At the sound of the sweetly feminine voice, Naruto jumped up in surprise. Turning to look at the source, his jaw slackened.

There she was._  
_

Her pink-hair blew smoothly in the wind, lightly grazing the sides of her cheeks as they did so. Her face still looked perfect from the make up. Emerald-green eyes contrasted with her pale skin, and stood out into the night, gleaming at him.

"S-Sakura Chan," the blonde muttered numbly.

He watched, limp, as the woman made her way over to him. Stopping very close to his self, Sakura slowly looked up at him.

Suddenly, Naruto saw her face heat up to a shade of light pink, so intense, that it was visible from beneath all her make up. His throat contracted into an involuntary gulp.

"I-I needed to talk to you."

_She looks so pretty._

His fazed mind took time in registering her words.

"W-well," he said, his head still buzzing with the sight she presented him, "I'm all ears."

Sakura then merely stood there for a while, gazing at him, blushing, and puffing her cheeks up occasionally, in fruitless attempts at gaining confidence. The sight nearly made Naruto laugh out, but he stayed in check, mostly because of the electrified atmosphere that suddenly seemed to surround them.

"I am," Sakura took in a deep breath, finally having had mustered up the courage she needed, "Sort of, like, in the higher sense of sort of, and stuff, well, if you _really-"_

"Sakura chan, what _is_ it?"

She took in another deep breath, and this time, finally faced him straight on the face.

"Do you want to help me find out if I can have babies?"

_The fuck she just say?_

Her eyes widened, as did those of the man in front of her. Her implication caught hold of Naruto's brain, and his stand became shaky. Wobbly taking a step toward her, he came up and stood in a way that made him perceptive of the pinkette's breath.

"W-What?"

His voice was a croaky whisper. Her spine suddenly tingled.

She shakily threw her hands up, which awkwardly got stuck against the Rokudaime's chest. Seeing that she was unable to move, and had got herself into a situation which was _miles _ahead of what she'd planned, she finally shook her head, feebly at best.

"I-I mean, no, like, not _babies, _but, like, you know, wel- arrrgh! Goddamit! I love you, idiot! "

With that she threw herself at him, forcefully pressing her mouth against his. Without any coherent thought, she bit the lower lip of the blonde in front of her. When he didn't respond, she reasoned that she'd gone much too far into the thing right now, to turn back.

Thus, she slowly canvassed his lips with hers, tentatively moving them up and down against his. Carrying on her ministrations for a while, she began to bring her hands up to his hair. Tangling them in the soft blonde locks of the man, she massaged the back of his head slowly with them. Naruto shivered.

Warm hands wrapped around her waist, and she finally let go of whatever inhibitions she had left. Thrusting her tongue out viciously, she slammed the blonde's lips with it. He unquestioningly obliged, and opened up, allowing her to taste the insides of his mouth.

_Ramen and Coke? _

A small smile began to appear on her face, but it was quickly slapped away when Naruto began to reciprocate her actions. Almost expertly, he slid his tongue into _her _mouth, and began vividly exploring what he had dreamed of since as far as he could remember. He felt Sakura go wobbly against him, and pulled her closer to him.

He carried on his movements for sometime, before Sakura suddenly moaned and pressed herself a bit more tightly against him. The pinkette finally felt the wound up nerves that had been troubling her ever since the Bath-incident, loosen up. The sensations made her feel frail, and she soon lost sight of whatever rational tuft of thought was left in her mind. She grounded herself against him, nearly toppling the both of them over.

Naruto groaned.

Suddenly, Sakura felt the blonde pull back. Her being gave an unsatisfied whimper of protest, as she busied herself with looking at her team-mates' lips. All the nerve-endings in her head were now humming with content, still fuzzy with the recent events.

Naruto moved from her embrace, but didn't go away. Instead, he stayed close enough for his breath to fall onto her lips.

Suddenly feeling the immense need to see what expression her 'friend' was wearing, she shot her head up. Darkened-blue orbs stared back at her. Her knees began to give away beneath her, and thus, she brought her hands up to press them against the blonde's chest; severely in need of support.

"I want to go out with you."

* * *

And that brings us to now, with Uzumaki Naruto, who'd just recovered from the punch Haruno Sakura had landed on his nose, eyeing the same with an emotion beyond curiosity and mirth. He saw her shift slightly in his embrace, and give him a lopsided smile.

"E-he-he."

He grinned. So even the pinkette was capable of getting nervous sometimes.

"Well, maybe," the blonde said, looking up, as if he was deeply pondering on the scenarios that could arise. Sakura chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Just give me an answer Baka."

He looked down at her, and after admiring the pretty face he saw, for a while, he finally gave her an easygoing, casual sort of smile.

"Is that even a question?"

Sakura's heart puffed up to a point beyond normal. With happiness practically pulsing through her, she landed another kiss on the blonde, before finally pulling away, albeit a little unwillingly, from his embrace and starting to walk away.

"Uh, just as a side thingy," Sakura turned at the sudden words of the blonde, and looked at him full in the face, and prodding him to go on.

He gulped.

"The babies thing... is it still on?"

Sakura blinked. And then she blinked again. The blonde's words slowly registered in her mind, and she understood what he was trying to hint at. His face looked surprisingly nervous, so much so, that it was almost alien for him.

She chuckled, as a grin flitted across her face.

"Is that even a question?"

* * *

**YEP! So that started out as something I wanted to just... write! I didn't have any idea on my mind, and just went with the flow. Sort of. **

**Anyway! How was this? I started writing at a half past nine, and finished now, when my clock's reading 2:50 in the morning. So, I didn't have the chance to proof-read this. Hope it turned out good though.**

**ANYWAY! HOW'S IT! LIKE IT? HATE IT? PLEASE REVIEW! THANKEE! :D**

**~THA musIc GuY**

**Have a cool time, Buh Bye! And don't forget, I really, _really, _like reviews. :3**


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